A quick survey of the perceptions of various demographics regarding control, trust, and socializing private & public losses:
Russia Davos party has unusual opposition flavor, by Dmitry Zhdannikov
DAVOS | Sat Jan 28, 2012 10:08am EST, Reuters
Quote:
Putin, Russia's president from 2000 to 2008 and now prime minister, is expected to return to the presidency after March elections, but is looking increasingly out of touch after the opposition brought tens of thousands of people onto the streets in December to demand a re-run of parliamentary elections.
Putin first dismissed the protesters as chattering monkeys financed from abroad, then backed a proposal from his protg President Dmitry Medvedev for gradual political reform, but later had a former KGB spy appointed as Kremlin chief of staff.
Kremlin insiders say the muted response is the result of a fight for the ear of Putin between the 'siloviki', men with a security services background, and a 'liberal' or 'moderate' faction whose influence has substantially weakened as Medvedev's term draws to a close.
Almost the entire "moderates" clan travelled to the World Economic Forum in Davos in Switzerland this week and used the event, previously attended by both Putin and Medvedev, to speak about the massive political challenges Russia faces.
Plan zur Finanzkontrolle, Griechenland strubt sich gegen EU-Aufpasser, 28.01.2012, Spiegel
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Berlin - Die Debatte ber ein zweites Hilfspakets fr Griechenland wird hrter: Angesichts wachsender Zweifel an die Reformfhigkeit des Landes kommt aus Deutschland jetzt der Vorschlag, dass Griechenland im Gegenzug fr weitere Hilfen zulassen soll, dass die Haushaltspolitik von EU-Institutionen kontrolliert wird. Die Bundesregierung hat gemeinsam mit anderen Lndern die Idee eines Sparkommissars aufgeworfen. Dieser soll auch ein Veto gegen einen Etat einlegen drfen.
Die griechische Regierung will von solchen Vorhaben jedoch nichts wissen. "Es ist ausgeschlossen, dass wir das akzeptieren", hie es in Athen. "Diese Kompetenzen fallen unter die nationale Souvernitt."
ber die Zukunft Griechenlands wird derzeit auf verschiedenen Ebenen beraten. Zum einen verhandelte die Regierung in Athen weiter mit den privaten Glubigern ber eine Umschuldung. Ministerprsident Loukas Papademos hatte am Freitag gesagt, er erwarte eine Einigung innerhalb weniger Tage. Zum anderen prft die Troika aus IWF, EZB und EU-Kommission in Athen die Umsetzung der Verpflichtungen aus dem ersten Hilfspaket sowie die wirtschaftliche Entwicklung im Land.
Ein positives Urteil ist Voraussetzung dafr, dass das hoch verschuldete Land weitere Kredite im Rahmen eines zweiten Hilfspaketes erhlt. Nach SPIEGEL-Informationen reichen dabei die bisher kalkulierten 130 Milliarden Euro bis Ende 2014 nicht aus. Stattdessen wrden 145 Milliarden Euro bentigt.
Greeks reject German plan for EU budget commissioner, 28 January 2012 Last updated at 17:14 ET, BBC News
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Greek officials have reacted angrily to a leaked German proposal for an EU budget commissioner with veto powers over Greek taxes and spending.
The Greek government said it must remain in control of its own budget.
The European Commission says it wants to reinforce its monitoring of Greek finances, but Greece should retain sovereign control.
Meanwhile, Greece and its private investors are close to a deal which will pave the way for a second bailout.
Negotiators say a tentative agreement could be finalised next week.
Greece must reach agreement in the next few days in order to receive the next tranche of funds from its first bailout.
It needs the money to pay off a significant number of bondholders whose bonds mature in March. Without the bailout funds, Greece could be forced into an uncontrolled default from the euro.
In Davos, Europe Is Pressed for Debt Crisis Solution, by Jack Ewing, Published: January 28, 2012, NYT
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DAVOS, Switzerland World leaders turned up the pressure on Europe on Saturday to erect a more formidable wall of money against the sovereign debt crisis, warning that the euro zone continues to pose a severe threat to the global economy.
George Osborne, the chancellor of the Exchequer in Britain, said a bigger firewall was a key to unlocking further confidence, while Christine Lagarde, managing director of the International Monetary Fund, said the fund should be big enough to eliminate any doubts about European resolve.
If it is big enough, it will not get used, she said on Saturday during a panel discussion at the World Economic Forum here.
Echoing comments by United States officials, including Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner on Friday, leaders in Davos said that aid to the euro zone from the rest of the world would be contingent on a larger commitment by Europe. Some critics have said it is perverse that the I.M.F., which is financed partly by developing countries, should be aiding wealthy Europe.
Europe has to be making more effort; otherwise, I dont think developing countries will want to pay more for the I.M.F., said Motohisa Furukawa, the Japanese official responsible for economic and fiscal policy.
The firewall, known formally as the European Stability Mechanism, would have a lending capacity of 500 billion euros ($656 billion) when it begins operating in July, replacing a temporary fund. European leaders are debating ways to increase the bailout funds resources to aid overindebted countries, but they face powerful opposition from voters in countries like Germany and have so far failed to act boldly enough to reassure financial markets.
Greece, Bankers Expect Debt-Swap Deal Next Week, by Marcus Bensasson and Maria Petrakis - Jan 28, 2012 2:04 PM MT, Bloomberg News
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Greece and its private creditors said they expect to complete a debt-swap accord in the coming week, after bondholders signaled they would accept European government demands for lower interest rates.
The sides are close to completing a voluntary exchange within a framework outlined by Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean- Claude Juncker, the Institute of International Finance, negotiating on behalf of private creditors, said in an e-mailed statement in Athens today.
Creditors are prepared to accept an average coupon of as low as 3.6 percent on new 30-year bonds, said a person familiar with the talks, who declined to be identified because a final deal hasnt been struck yet.
Institute of International Finance: Greece
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Greece remains mired in a damaging economic downturn. Despite a massive underlying fiscal adjustment of more than 12 percent of GDP during 2010-2011, EU-IMF fiscal targets been difficult to achieve with tax revenues undermined by weakening activity caused by the adjustment itself and an intensified credit contraction in response to growing liquidity pressures.
Liquidity pressures have grown with the ECB reluctant to assume unlimited Greek risk, which would have lessened the need for Euro Area creditor governments to provide additional financing with the government unable to issue new bonds in 2012, as the current EU-IMF program had assumed.
Agreements reached at the October 26-27 EU summit clear the way for a second EU-IMF program providing €130 billion in additional financing through 2014. Funding has been included for collateral for a revised voluntary agreement with bondholders reducing nominal bond values by 50 percent. Implementation, however, will require at least the interim support of Greece’s two largest political parties. This is likely to prove problematic amid jockeying ahead of elections now likely early next year.
European Central Bank, Mario Draghi, President of the ECB, Vítor Constâncio, Vice-President of the ECB, Frankfurt am Main, 12 January 2012
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The Governing Council welcomes the European Council’s agreement to move to a stronger economic union, which was announced on 9 December 2011. The new fiscal compact, comprising a fundamental restatement of the fiscal rules together with the fiscal commitments that euro area governments have made, is an important contribution to ensuring the long-run sustainability of public finances in the euro area countries. The wording of the rules needs to be unambiguous and effective. The further development of the European financial stability tools should make the operation of the European Financial Stability Facility and the European Stability Mechanism more effective. The swift deployment of these tools is now urgently needed. Concerning the involvement of the private sector in financial assistance for indebted countries, we welcome the reaffirmation that the decisions taken on 21 July and 26 and 27 October 2011 concerning Greek debt are unique and exceptional.